Woman dies whilst waiting to be seen at A&E

[VaccineSticker]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-nottinghamshire-68243636

The poor woman- She had been waiting 7 hours before she was found unconscious then dies few days later.
Now they want to launch an investigation into this case - like doh?? Isn’t it obvious that because she wasn’t treated promptly, she died? Maybe recruit and pay staff more to avoid cases like this happening again? But no, they would rather waste money and put it into investigating it instead of fixing the blinding obvious issue here that A&Es are not coping.

How did we get here? What have the Tories done to this country?

It is due to complete mismanagement and limited government planning. If the UK were a company we would have collapsed. Not because of the workers but because of the senior managers, aka Conservative policitans.

Yes, more money is needed but there has been no planning for the population & and demographic changes. Why? Quite simply it's not a priority and way too much politics at play. Plans that address issues in the future doesn't lead to votes and the Tories have been successful because they spin the electorate and are helped to do so by the right wing press.

As mentioned previously it was known there would be staffing crisis due to age of workforce and aging population. During the last 10 years there have been years when the electorates interest were completely disregarded in favour of Tory party. Boris was a prime example of this attitude but you will still get people voting for his type, rather than "boring" Kier.

I have had recent opportunities to see some leading policiticans up close and it scary how they only focus on their self interest and that of the Conservative party. Behind closed doors there is hardly any pretense that they are serving the country. They are also recruiting the next generation of Tory MPs with similar values so I can't see it changing for a very long time.

Everyone needs to vote and then hold their local MPs to account.

The NHS needs to be removed from control by politicians. Every 4 or 5 years they come in and waste billions implementing some 'restructure' or 'reorganisation' , depending on their political viewpoint.
In 37 years I saw this so many times and so very little changed. Except for the Blair years, it just got worse every time the government changed hands.

@CormorantStrikesBack every hospital ward I've ever worked on since 2002 has had 6 beds crammed into a bay designed for 4.
It's an absolute tradegy, what has happened to our health service? It is almost impossible to provide safe care in a hospital environment now and it's devastating.
System failure from top to bottom - terrible leadership and management and just not enough resources.
The story of this lady dying in A&E is just heartbreaking- unbearable to read. I can't imagine how her poor family must be feeling knowing how terribly she was let down in what was meant to be a place of safety.

A&E has always been an overcrowded, difficult place to provide care. It needs careful handling and investment in resources and staff, but has been sorely neglected for too long now.
When I was a student nurse I was taught that acute pancreatitis was an urgent, possibly an emergency problem and needed to be dealt with immediately and the patient given diamorphine. I ended up in A&E with severe cholecystitis (which turned into pancreatitis) was given 10mls of oramorph and told to sit in the waiting room. I lay across two hard metal chairs for four hours. An overseas visitor had come in and started to kick off because his wife wasn't being seen to immediately. She was walking and appeared relaxed and it didn't appear to be an emergency. The staff took them in before the rest of us and the waiting room kicked off because of this. I gave up at that point, removed my own cannula and dh took me home. I dozed myself up on late mil's meds and slept until the gallbladder had stopped its antics. I had to see the GP for blood monitoring due to the pancreatitis. Had another attack a few years later and didn't even bother going to hospital.

And to those trying to excuse this awful situation- yes she may have died anyway but she deserved to die with dignity and privacy and knowing thay someone gave a shit and had at least tried to help her. Not leave her lying unattended under a coat for hours on end, most likely frightened and terrified.

It's going to be akin to Victorian times when people did anything rather than be admitted to hospital because they knew they'd die there (infection, nowadays, neglect).

It surprises me A&E has been underfunded given it's one of the parts of the NHS that I don't think has a private alternative. If Sunak or his family were in an accident it's the local A&E they'd go to, so you'd have thought the selfish git would make sure it was fit for purpose. Or is he just banking on skipping triage because of who he is?

1000% this.

"They're selling off the NHS, don't care where the rest goes.
If you want an operation, try the meat counter at Tescos".

The curse of a slightly weird memory.

What in the middle of the “walk way” of the bay? Not against a wall, literally in the middle of the room with no call bell and no curtains? Because I’ve never seen it before and I’ve worked in the nhs a long time. Yes, I’ve known bays be properly refurbished to fit more beds in but not this.

This has really scared me.
I had to go to this A and E about 5 years ago when I was visiting a friend. It was pretty quick. I waited about half an hour and my issue was not really urgent. How can it have deteriorated to this in such a short time?

And the Covid vaccine mandate lost another 40"000 from social care

The terrifying thing is people will read stories like this and still put a cross in the box next to Conservative. They have utterly destroyed the country over the last 14 years. I despair that anyone can still defend them. Brexit is an unmitigated disaster, greed is king, our public services are in ruins, the economy is in tatters, everyone is worse off and the levels of poverty are shocking. They have rinsed the country for as much as they can to line their own pockets and that of their mates. I despair.

Last weeks experience of a&e by ambulance was a half hour ambulance queue followed by a 4 hour corridor queue.
The staff were working tirelessly but it was relentless and I am certain they couldn't deliver the standard of care they would want to.

Try Lincoln MEAU, not only are beds crammed in so you can’t fit the little cupboard between them, nevermind having your own curtain, they often have men and women in the same bay.

Sadly as you can see from the answers on the thread “this isn’t a one off”, there’s probably quite a few of us who know someone who has passed away due to not being seen quick enough or an ambulance taking too long. The NHS is in crisis and we knew things would get bad. I know of someone who died because 111 wouldn’t send an ambulance (young person died of sepsis). In the last few weeks I have heard and read stories of disabled people having to wait 7+ hours to be seen in A&E. it’s awful reading that people presenting with chest pane are being made to wait, surely they should be seen straight away due to the risk of a cardiac arrest? It’s shocking that people presenting with critical conditions are being told to sit and wait or are being left in side rooms with no one checking on them.

I worry that me or a family member may need A&E at some point, I would be scared to go, especially alone with no one to advocate for me.

Totally this, people vote for these idiots again and again.

I was in this A&E...after an hour in saw a person...wasnt a nurse who took blood pressure then told me to sit outside. 7 hours later, someone did the rounds with a portable blood pressure monitor! Another 2 hours...now 9....stil not been seen. I asked for an update at the desk. Was told 5 more people in front of me and would be at least another 6-7 hours making it 15-16 hours ..or longer if any emergency came in they said. Was encouraged....yes encouraged....to may be go home and see GP next day.

No surprised, loads of us have had awful A&E experiences.

Why not right now build temporary structures( like the nightingale hospitals in covid ) and put army medics in to help ?? Seriously. This is utterly appalling that it's going on right now. Right now!! That's what I would suggest if I was Sir Kier. Then in parallel invest in community hospitalsbgetting bed blockers out of acute wards.

Indeed. Why was she not assessed for potential brain haemorrhage in a rapid stroke assessment unit?

Your title is incorrect, she died a few days later of a sudden brain haemorrhage. I agree with what you're saying, that it's appalling and highlights the state of the NHS etc. I just think with these kind of issues that it's very important to get all the facts correct and not inadvertently spread misinformation

ODFO

I was doing nothing of the sort. The situation in the NHS in general is shocking but calling what happened manslaughter is a hell of a leap. And who would be charged? The entire staff on duty?

It seems to have worsened since lockdown when GPs weren't seeing people as they usually did and normal service doesn't appear to have resumed for many surgeries. Things like UTIs can quickly become very serious and there's no way a GP should be refusing to see someone with a urine infection (pp experienced this on this thread). I know they have more complex patients out in the community now, but the general population still need to be able to access basic healthcare in order to prevent a condition worsening.

I think the rich don't ever need to go to A&E as their conditions and health is so well managed in the private sector. It never gets to emergency levels. Even the Duchess of Cambridge had seemingly urgent surgery in the private sector. Politicians would only end up in A&E if they had a serious car accident or something. They'd probably be stabilised then sent to the private sector anyway.

OP, they don't want to launch an investigation, they have to.